Icy Rockslug
Icy Rockslugs are huge, sightless gastropods indigenous to Zukabergo-Nama Gusuk, the moon of Sacowitchi Iefalt. Slowly roaming the world in herds, they sift through the snow and substrate for diffused oxide elements—they especially seek out iron-based minerals, such as the iron-composite Sazmikaite and Astistokite. Physiology thumb|left|Anterior view, showing head Although Icy Rockslugs do not stop growing throughout their entire lives, this growth is a very slow process, as is everything with their metabolic rate. Most Rockslugs found are about 6'6" tall (2 meters). The body is somewhat spherical in shape in young juveniles and ovalloid in adults and becomes somewhat laterally flattened as they age. Although they are sightless, a head extends out beyond the rest of the body that is used to detect the environment by sensing chemical changes. The head is also sensitive to vibrations when placed at rest against the ground. The head provides the body with a large mouth as well, which scrapes the ice for the diffused oxide elements it seeks to nourish itself. When this mouth is closed it is indistinguishable from the rest of the body. To feed they move forward with their head against the ground and sift through the snow; on ice sheets this can prove dangerous as the area behind them will become a slick sheen. It is extremely common for the Rockslugs to be mistaken for actual rocks by the untrained eye and they move so slowly that still images taken days apart are usually necessary to compare to show that they have, in fact, moved. thumb|left|Juvenile causes HUD scan error As a form of protection, some of the oxide elements they find is incorporated into their bodies as a latticework of hexagonal plates several layers under the uppermost dermal layer. Their skin is also very thick and rock-like itself, smooth yet unyielding to the touch. Because of the nature of the planet, they do not have a layer of blubber as many would assume but instead can quickly thin or thicken their blood as needed. Interestingly, most HUD scanners will detect the large amount of oxide compounds inside of the slug and misidentify it as a rock, itself, specifically of whatever type of compound it has consumed the most of. thumb|350px|A small family of Rockslugs, along with a young [[Becko Crabcat.]] Although their metabolism is extremely slow, the Great Thaw showed that they are capable of surprising speed. The Icy Rockslugs were among the first species to detect the thawing event and began to move en masse into the caverns that dot the planetary surface. During this mass exodus, they were recorded as traveling at a shocking (for them) 5 miles per hour. Most are believed to have actually made it into the caverns before the planet boiled, but a few hundred have been found to have been cooked alive. Since the thawing, no Icy Rockslugs have been detected, despite their great numbers beforehand during the glacial era. This was the catalyst for some Gek scientists to propose the "Hollow Zukaberg" theory, wherein a vast network of caves must exist below the surface where the glacial species flee too for the millennia that the planet is irradiated instead of devastatingly cold. Gallery Zukabergo 7.jpg|A Shalespine Tailshrike amongst a herd of Rockslugs Zukabergo 8.jpg|A Tailshrike sizing up a herd for potential prey Icy Rockslug Wild 3.jpg|A Gek patrol rocket over a peaceful scene Zukabergo 16 (cropped).jpg|A herd feeds just outside of base jurisdiction Category:Somarinoa's Content Category:No Man's Sky Category:Alien Species Category:Non-Sapient Species Category:Lithotrophs Category:Zukabergo-Nama Gusuk Inhabitants